Ladies of Charity, Second Harvest partner for mobile food pantry
By Bill Brewer
The Ladies of Charity of Knoxville and Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee partnered for a mobile food pantry on Aug. 29, where scores of shopping carts full of food, including fresh vegetables and fruit, were distributed to people experiencing food insecurity.
Susan Unbehaun, executive director of Ladies of Charity (left center) oversees the Ladies of Charity-Second Harvest Food Bank mobile food pantry on Aug. 29 at Ladies of Charity’s Knoxville facility. Assisting is former Vol basketball player Jahmai Mashack (right center). (Photo Bill Brewer)
A line of Ladies of Charity clients stretching around the nonprofit organization’s building at 120 Baxter Ave. anxiously waited for the food pantry to open and a chance to meet former Tennessee Volunteers basketball standout Jahmai Mashack, who now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA.
Mr. Mashack and 2026 Miss Teen Tennessee Becka Williams of Knoxville helped hand out bags of food during the Second Harvest Mobile Food Pantry.
Susan Unbehaun, Ladies of Charity executive director, and her staff and volunteers organized the mobile food pantry with Rachael Ellis, Second Harvest CEO, and her team.
Mrs. Unbehaun expressed gratitude to Second Harvest for its partnership on the mobile food pantry project as well as to the staff, volunteers, and the scores of people who received food, much of which was grown locally on East Tennessee farms.
“It went very well. You never know who’s going to show up at the door, but we had a full parking lot and a line that wrapped around the parking lot,” Mrs. Unbehaun said. “So, we know that it was important to people to come today and get all those products that we were promoting, the sweet corn, the tomatoes, the fresh meats, all locally grown. And of course, the farm-fresh eggs, which I’m partial to.”
She emphasized that the fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, and meat were the result of a Second Harvest initiative to partner with area farmers in acquiring their produce to feed people in East Tennessee.
“Everyone looked like they were grateful to be getting these food items. They’re like, ‘Thanks for doing this, especially on a Saturday when other food pantries might not be open and available,’” Mrs. Unbehaun said. “They were going away with a lot of products. They had shopping carts full of food—dry goods, canned beans, peanut butter, the proteins, but also the fresh farm products, the fresh meat, and fresh cheese.”
She pointed out that the recipients were residents Ladies of Charity serves each day.
Mrs. Unbehaun noted that Second Harvest earlier this year named Ladies of Charity its Agency of the Year for its ministry in providing food to those in need. Second Harvest has been a primary supplier of food to Ladies of Charity for more than a decade.
“A key objective of Ladies of Charity is to partner with Second Harvest to respond to food insecurity in the community. Here at Ladies of Charity-Knoxville, we focus mostly on Knox County. We do serve other areas, but Second Harvest reaches out to 18 counties in East Tennessee,” she said.
Mrs. Unbehaun recognized her staff and team of volunteers as well as the Second Harvest group on hand for their work in making the ministry work so well in reaching out to those in need.
“We must have had 25 to 30 volunteers here, students to regular volunteers that work the food pantry. It was one of those days that they could actually see the clients and hand them food directly instead of packing a bag and having them pick it up. This was just embracing the community and serving, and you could see all the smiles on their faces today. It was a great day,” she said.
Andy Holder, operations manager for Ladies of Charity, said the mobile food pantry served 118 households, feeding more than 300 people.
Ms. Ellis also thought the mobile food pantry at Ladies of Charity was a success.
“We are grateful to have Jahmai Mashack come back to East Tennessee to support our newest initiative, Harvesting Hope, which gives back to our local farmers who provide the nutritious food that is produced here locally that then goes back into the community to those who are food insecure,” Ms. Ellis said. “And Ladies of Charity has been an incredible partner.”
Ms. Ellis explained that Second Harvest is supporting local farmers by purchasing their produce so that they have a constant buyer for their fruits, vegetables, and meat.
“And if we don’t have food from our farmers, we’re all in trouble. So, that’s essentially what’s happening is we want to support our farmers who then are turning around and supporting the community that is food insecure. It’s a win, win, win,” she said. “Having Jahmai here allows us to shine a little light and create awareness, which is really important.”
Mr. Mashack traveled from Memphis to take part in the mobile food pantry, and he said he believes he and most everyone else can give at least some of their time to help others.
“My advice is to give 1 percent. Start by giving 1 percent. One percent can change somebody’s day. One percent can change somebody’s week. It doesn’t matter how much you have, but giving is, I think, one of the best forms of kindness and it can bring somebody’s day from low to high very quickly,” Mr. Mashack said.
As he gave out food, Mr. Mashack also signed autographs for fans who were in line to receive food. A number of those autographs were on posters depicting his days playing for Tennessee.
He played for the Volunteers from 2021-25 and appeared in 137 games as a shooting guard. He was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive Team, won the Field of 68 National Defensive Player of the Year award in the 2024-25 season, and was considered one of the top defensive players in the nation.
He also was named to the 2025 SEC Community Service Team and was a 2025 University of Tennessee Torchbearer, which is awarded to students based on achievement in academics and in community service.
He will perhaps be best remembered for his thrilling, game-winning, three-point buzzer-beater to defeat Alabama 79-76 on March 1, 2025. At the time, Tennessee was ranked No. 5 in the country and Alabama was ranked No. 6.
Top photo: Ladies of Charity staff and volunteers gather around Miss Teen Tennessee Becka Williams for photos at the conclusion of the Mobile Food Pantry put on by the Ladies of Charity and Second Harvest Food Bank.